Grave vault



Oct. 14, 1947. l J. WQSTAGGERS 2,429,000

` GRAVE VAULT Filed Feb. 11, 41944 2 'sheets-sheet 2 "Si I* i Patented Oct. 14, 1947 VUNITED STAT 13A-TEN QfFFI'C--E i2,i429,oo GRAVE vAUL'r. f Jol'mVV.V Staggers, ashington', -D.5C. Application February 11, 1944,.serialNafzaest (or. val-r) 3 Claims.

"Ihis' invention relates to' a' grave or burial vault.

It is primarilyaimed touprovidea construction which may be sealed so as to be water and mois-v ture-proof and yet be made from Portlandcernent or theV equivalent, thus overcoming the .objece tion .to-prior attemptsV to manufacture satisfac-y tory burial'vaults from the same.material,..name Iy, kthat they were not water aridmoisture-proof.

Another' object is to provide a construction wherein the weight of the cover materially functions in the binding and sealing the cement used in producing the water and moisture-proof joint.

Further, it is aimed to provide a structure wherein th'e cover or closure and the container body have intertted parts provided with novel coacting, undercut grooves filled with the binding and sealing cement.

The more speciiic objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the description following taken in connection with accompanying drawings illustrating an operative embodiment.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a top or plan view of the container section of the vault;

Figure 2 is an inverted plan view of the closure or cover section of the vault;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of'a closed vault;

Figure 4 is a vertical section of line 4 4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a detail showing the interfitting parts of the vault sections in spaced relation; and

Figure 6 is a horizontal section taken on the plane of line 6-6 of Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary detailed sectional view showing some of the cement forced to an elevated position between the base and the rib.

Referring specifically to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate like or similar parts, the burial or grave vault shown has a container section I0 for the casket and a closure section at I I. These sections I Il and II are initially separate and are made from concrete using a water and moisture-proof Portland or other cement so that when the sections are set and dry or hardened, they will be impervious to moisture.

Said sections I0 and II are joined together by providing a continuous depending rib I2 which ts into a continuous groove I3 of the same shape, in the upper edge of the upstanding wall of the container section and which upper edge and the under surface of the cover section II have coplanar engagement as shown.

It is to be noted that at the base of the groove I3, it is widened to provide auxiliary undercut grooves I4 preferably semi-circular in cross section and that the rib I2 has opposed grooves,

taken on the plane y similar in shape to those at I4, however, .with-the corner-edges IB of the ribH I2 preferably .cut away slightly, whereby the vrib I2 is narrowerat its base thanabove lthe vgrooves I 5.

In .joining andsealingthe sectionsY I0 and-II, the rib Y I`2occupies..groove I3 and prior to :the intertting., andsealng cementisapplied to the groove I13so aszto 'formjoining and .sealing bodies at Il.

The cement used for the sealing body I'I is water-proof Portland cement or the equivalent, usually the same as is used in making the sections IU and II. By the term cement, I intend to include not only pure cement, but cement which may contain sand or other materials admixed therewith and which do not interfere with a binding, joining, and water-proof action and connection.

In actual practice, the weight of the closure II plays an important part in obtaining the filling of the grooves I4 and I5 with the sealing cement I1 since such closure II weighs on the order of 400 to 500 pounds and the sealing cement is th'us subjected to such weight which produces great pressure, causing the sealing cement to ll and intimately engage the grooves I4 and I5 and any surplus to rise above the grooves as best shown in Figure 7 at I8 to thus extend the area of binding and Water-proof sealing since the material at I8 will bind with the adjacent side walls of the rib I2 and groove I3.

By cutting away the corners of the rib I2 at I6, so that such' rib will be narrower at its lower end or base than above the grooves I5, I nd that the rib more easily enters the body of the sealing plastic which produces the sealing bodies I'I and avoids trapping of air.

Various changes may be resorted to provided they fall within the spirit and scope 0f the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A vault, comprising a case and a lid, said case having a continuous groove in the upper edge thereof, a cementitious deposit for said groove, the case at the lower portion of the sidewalls of the groove being formed with lateral channels in opposed relation, said lid being provided with a continuous depending rib adjacent its edge for snug disposition in the groove, the lower portion of the rib provided with a downwardly ared formation having its greatest width less than the width of the rib proper to permit lateral displacement into the channels of the cementitious deposit when the rib is brought to bear against the bottom of the groove under the weight of the lid proper.

2. A vault comprising a case and a lid, said case having a continuous groove in the upper edge thereof, a cementitious deposit for said groove, the case at the lower portion of the sidewalls of a predetermined .quantity of ,bindingthe groove being formed with lateral channels in opposed relation, said lid being provided with a continuous depending rib adjacent its edge for snug disposition in the groove, the lower portion of the rib provided with a downwardly flared formation having its greatest Width less than the width of the rib proper tc permit lateral displacement into the channels of the cementitious deposit when the rib is brought to bear against the bottom of the groove under the weight of the lid proper, said downwardly flared formation consisting of grooves in the lower edge portions of the rib, the lower wall portions of the grooves of the rib being shorter than their opposed portions to reduce that portion of the rib below the said edge grooves.

3. A vault comprising a case anda lid, said case having a continuous groove in the upper :edge thereof, a cementitious deposit for said groove, the case at the lower portion of the sidewalls of the groove being formed with lateral channels in opposed relationsaid lid being provided with a continuous depending. rib adjacent its edge for snug disposition in the groove, the

lower portion of the rib provided with a downwardly flared formation having its greatest width less than the width of the rib proper to permit lateral displacement into the channels of the cementitious deposit when the rib is brought to bear against the bottom yof the groove under the weight of the lid proper, sufcient clearance being allowed between the rib and the sidewalls of the case in said groove to permit forcing of a fine lm of the cementitious deposit therebetween.

JOHN W. STAGGERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS v Number Name g Date 980,670 Pepple Jan. 3, 1911 1,014,614 St. Clair Jan. 9, 1912 1,069,470 VRector Aug. 5, 1913 1,154,085 .Berry et al. Slept. 21, 1915 1,274,424 Kuehn Aug. 6, 1918 

